Ex-President allegedly sent a bag of money to Buhari in 1988

The book on President Buhari: Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria, has unearthed some surprising stories lately.

According to page 35 of the book, former Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida gave a bag of money to Buhari when he was released from prison in 1988, reports say.

The biographer also stated that the money was distributed to the poor by Mr. President.

An excerpt of the book obtained from The Tribune, reads: “Buhari had married Safinatu Yusuf in 1971, and they had five children, a son and four daughters. In the end, Buhari and Safinatu would be divorced in 1988. He would marry Aisha Halilu in 1989, after his release from detention. They would also have five children.

“After the death of his mother in December 1988, Buhari was released and travelled to Daura for the mourning. When he arrived in Daura, he found his farm much as he had left it. His senior brother (the father of Mamman Daura), along with the Barden Daura, had managed the cattle, sheep, and horses in his absence, although a number of cattle had been sold off to pay for feed during the drought.

“Buhari was still in debt to the bank for building his home. Yet now he had no income. At that time there was no program to provide retirement funds for former heads of state. Babangida agreed to a policy to pay Buhari his military pension, a modest 1,643 naira per month for ten years.

“Babangida had originally sent Buhari “a bag of money,” but Buhari refused it and had it distributed to the poor. Buhari had negotiated his pension funds with Air Vice Marshal (rtd) Hamza Abdullahi, a military governor of Kano, who acted on behalf of Babangida.”